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Articles 1 - 16 of 16
Full-Text Articles in Social Work
Barriers To Food Security Experienced By Families Living In Extended Stay Motels, Stephanie Gonzalez Guittar
Barriers To Food Security Experienced By Families Living In Extended Stay Motels, Stephanie Gonzalez Guittar
The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
Families who are food insecure do not have regular access to food, access to enough food to satisfy their hunger, or have to resort to extraordinary measures to access food such as traveling to food pantries and other emergency food sources. This article focuses on low-income families with children who live in extended stay motels and experienced food insecurity. Families reported several indicators of food insecurity and discussed the barriers to food security they experienced as a result of living in a motel. Families reported that the locations of the motels, lack of transportation, the lack of storage space and …
The Policy Nexus: Panhandling, Social Capital And Policy Failure, Amanda R. Tillotson, Laura Lein
The Policy Nexus: Panhandling, Social Capital And Policy Failure, Amanda R. Tillotson, Laura Lein
The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
In this paper, we analyze a unique mixed methods data set based on survey responses (n=108) and intensive interviews (n=18) with panhandlers in Austin, Texas. We examine the way in which failures of primary and secondary social capital interact to create the conditions of extreme poverty and homelessness that lead to panhandling. We find that a large majority of these individuals are working-age adults who lack access to social policy supports that would allow them to weather periods of unemployment produced by health issues and other personal difficulties.
Toward Housing Stability: Exiting Homelessness As An Emerging Adult, Jeff Karabanow, Sean A. Kidd, Tyler Frederick, Jean Hughes
Toward Housing Stability: Exiting Homelessness As An Emerging Adult, Jeff Karabanow, Sean A. Kidd, Tyler Frederick, Jean Hughes
The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
This paper explores the lives of formerly homeless young people as they transitioned towards housing stability. The study employed a longitudinal design involving 51 street youth in Halifax, N.S. (n = 21) and Toronto, ON (n = 30). This paper sheds light upon the pathways through which young people transitioned away from homelessness using the developmental lens of emerging adulthood: a stage involving numerous developmental struggles (identity, instability, self-focus, feeling in-between) but also an age filled with hope and possibilities. There are numerous interrelated factors at play that allow participants to regain a sense of citizenship with mainstream society. While …
Can People Experiencing Homelessness Acquire Financial Assets?, Allison De Marco, Molly De Marco, Alexandra Biggers, Maggie West, Jonathan Young, Rachel Levy
Can People Experiencing Homelessness Acquire Financial Assets?, Allison De Marco, Molly De Marco, Alexandra Biggers, Maggie West, Jonathan Young, Rachel Levy
The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
Through an innovative Individual Development Account (IDA) program run by the Community Empowerment Fund (CEF), individuals at risk for or experiencing homelessness receive financial education, access matched savings accounts, and have saved a total of $89,831.55. This is notable as low-income individuals often lack access to the means to build assets, which can moderate financial distress. In this mixed-method study we examine the program's impact through administrative data, surveys, and qualitative interviews. Of the 17 interview participants, 15 opened an account, saving an average of $1,356.24 toward housing, emergency savings, cars, education, and computers. Few U.S. IDA programs have served …
Are Housing First Programs Effective? A Research Note, Danielle Groton
Are Housing First Programs Effective? A Research Note, Danielle Groton
The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
This paper briefly reviews studies comparing the effectiveness of various Housing First programs to Continuum of Care programs for outcomes related to housing retention, substance use, and mental health. A literature search was completed entering the search term "Housing First" in electronic databases (PsycINFO, JSTOR, and Web of Science) to find potential studies. Of the 67 items produced by the literature search, after screening for outcome studies of Housing First programs that evaluate housing retention, substance use, and/or mental health in comparison to other programs or treatment as usual, 5 final studies were selected for inclusion in the review. Of …
Zones Of Exclusion: Urban Spatial Policies, Social Justice, And Social Services, Karen H. Bancroft
Zones Of Exclusion: Urban Spatial Policies, Social Justice, And Social Services, Karen H. Bancroft
The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
Across the United States homeless persons, prostitutes, and drug and alcohol users are subject to policies that severely limit their freedom of movement. These new policies create spatial exclusion zones that deny these groups the right to inhabit or traverse large areas of their cities, particularly in the downtown cores, where treatment centers, shelters, food banks, soup kitchens, government services, and other social services are typically concentrated. In this paper, I examine these new spatial exclusionary policies (with a focus on Washington State's policies), present a brief historical account of socio-spatial practices, contextualize the current spatial laws, and end with …
The Economics Of Being Young And Poor: How Homeless Youth Survive In Neo-Liberal Times, Jeff Karabanow, Jean Hughes, Jann Ticknor, Sean Kidd, Dorothy Patterson
The Economics Of Being Young And Poor: How Homeless Youth Survive In Neo-Liberal Times, Jeff Karabanow, Jean Hughes, Jann Ticknor, Sean Kidd, Dorothy Patterson
The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
Based upon in-depth interviews with 34 youth in Halifax and seven service providers in St. John's, Montreal, Hamilton, Toronto, Winnipeg, and Calgary, the findings of this study suggest that labor occurs within a particular street context and street culture. Formal and informal work can be inter-related, and despite the hardships they experience, young people who are homeless or who are at-risk of homelessness can respond to their circumstances with ingenuity, resilience and hope. Often street-involved and homeless young people are straddling formal and informal work economies while mediating layers of external and internal motivations and tensions. The reality is that …
Perspectives Of Employed People Experiencing Homelessness Of Self And Being Homeless: Challenging Socially Constructed Perceptions And Stereotypes, Micheal L. Shier, Marion E. Jones, John R. Graham
Perspectives Of Employed People Experiencing Homelessness Of Self And Being Homeless: Challenging Socially Constructed Perceptions And Stereotypes, Micheal L. Shier, Marion E. Jones, John R. Graham
The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
In a study that sought to identify the multiple factors resulting in homelessness from the perspective of 65 individuals in Calgary, Alberta, Canada who were both employed and homeless, we found that participants' perceptions of being homeless emerged as a major theme which impacts their entry to and exit from homelessness. Four sub-themes related to these perceptions were identified: (1) perceptions of self and situation; (2) impact of being homeless on self-reflection; (3) aspects of hope to consider; and (4) perspectives on having a permanent residence. Analytically, these findings help challenge present stereotypes about homelessness and usefully inform social service …
Out Of The Frying Pan, Into The Fire: Trauma In The Lives Of Homeless Youth Prior To And During Homelessness, John Coates, Sue Mckenzie-Mohr
Out Of The Frying Pan, Into The Fire: Trauma In The Lives Of Homeless Youth Prior To And During Homelessness, John Coates, Sue Mckenzie-Mohr
The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
Anecdotal evidence from those who work with homeless youth indicates that trauma permeates these young people's lives. This paper presents the findings from a study of 100 homeless youth regarding the presence of trauma in their lives, both before and during homelessness. Participants living in the Maritime Provinces volunteered to take part in a semi-structured interview lasting one to two hours. The interview questionnaire was conducted by a trained interviewer, and was composed of standardized and adapted survey instruments, as well as questions regarding demographics, experiences prior to becoming homeless, assistance received while dealing with stressors, and current needs. The …
The Limits Of Social Capital: An Examination Of Immigrants' Housing Challenges In Calgary, Alina Tanasescu, Alan Smart
The Limits Of Social Capital: An Examination Of Immigrants' Housing Challenges In Calgary, Alina Tanasescu, Alan Smart
The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
A common explanation of immigrants' under-representation among the homeless population in Canada is that kinship and community networks act as a buffer to absolute homelessness. There are indications that immigrant homelessness is, however, increasing, suggesting that the buffering capacity of social networks reaches a limit. Further, evidence of precarious housing situations indicates that we should approach this form of housing provision with some caution. This paper draws on a larger study of housing difficulties among immigrants in Calgary to address the ways in which social capital serves a buffering role, and under what conditions it loses its ability to prevent …
Housing For People With Serious Mental Illness: Approaches, Evidence, And Transformative Change, Geoffrey Nelson
Housing For People With Serious Mental Illness: Approaches, Evidence, And Transformative Change, Geoffrey Nelson
The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
The evolution of housing approaches for people with serious mental illness is described and analyzed. A distinction is made between three different approaches to housing: (a) custodial, (b) supportive, and (c) supported. Research evidence is reviewed that suggests the promise of supported housing, but more research is needed that compares supported housing with different supportive housing approaches. It is argued that the current move to a supported housing approach represents a fundamental shift or transformative change in mental health policy and practice. Strategies to facilitate this shift are discussed.
Representations Of Homelessness In Four Canadian Newspapers: Regulation, Control, And Social Order, Barbara Schneider, Kerry Chamberlain, Darrin Hodgetts
Representations Of Homelessness In Four Canadian Newspapers: Regulation, Control, And Social Order, Barbara Schneider, Kerry Chamberlain, Darrin Hodgetts
The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
This article reports on a content analysis of homelessness representations in four Canadian newspapers: two city broadsheets, one city tabloid, and one national newspaper. Clear differences between the papers emerged showing that in general coverage of homelessness in Calgary was much more positive than coverage in Vancouver. It conveyed a stronger sense of crisis or urgency and a stronger sense of optimism that the problem should and can be solved. Experts dominate public discourse about homelessness, with people who experience homelessness themselves marginalized as speakers. Despite these differences, the four papers present a unified narrative of homelessness in which readers …
Progressive Housing Policy In The 21st Century: A Contrarian View, George Fallis
Progressive Housing Policy In The 21st Century: A Contrarian View, George Fallis
The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
After years of cutbacks to housing programs in Canada, there has emerged a consensus that a progressive housing policy requires significant construction of new social housing units to address both the problems of housing affordability and homelessness. This paper argues that large scale social housing should not be the focus of progressive housing policy in the 21st century. We should use the progressive goals of the original welfare state, but we should modify the programs designed to meet these goals. The paper examines the income and personal insecurities faced by low-income households today, contrasting them with the insecurities faced in …
"Like A Prison!": Homeless Women's Narratives Of Surviving Shelter, Sarah L. Deward, Angela M. Moe
"Like A Prison!": Homeless Women's Narratives Of Surviving Shelter, Sarah L. Deward, Angela M. Moe
The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
Relying on field observation and twenty qualitative interviews with shelter residents, this article examines how the bureaucracy and institutionalization within a homeless shelter fits various tenets of Goffman's (1961) "total institution," particularly with regard to systematic deterioration of personhood and loss of autonomy. Women's experiences as shelter residents are then explored via a typology of survival strategies: submission, adaptation, and resistance. This research contributes to existing literature on gendered poverty by analyzing the nuanced ways in which institutionalization affects and complicates women's efforts to survive homelessness.
Influences On Job Retention Among Homeless Persons With Substance Abuse Or Psychiatric Disabilities, Russell K. Schutt, Norman C. Hursh
Influences On Job Retention Among Homeless Persons With Substance Abuse Or Psychiatric Disabilities, Russell K. Schutt, Norman C. Hursh
The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
Job retention is an important psychosocial rehabilitation goal, but one that is not often achieved. We investigate facilitators of and barriers to employment retention among homeless individuals with psychiatric and substance abuse diagnoses who were re-interviewed eight or more years after participating in a traditional vocational rehabilitation program. Most program graduates who maintained employment had secured social support from a variety of sources; personal motivation was also a critical element in job retention and compensated in some cases for an absence of social support. Both the availability of social support contacts and personal motivation influenced likelihood of maintaining sobriety. Physical …
Hate Crimes Against The Homeless: Warning-Out New England Style, Sandra Wachholz
Hate Crimes Against The Homeless: Warning-Out New England Style, Sandra Wachholz
The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
This article reports on the hate crime victimization experienced by thirty individuals over the course of their homelessness in a New England city. Indepth interviews were conducted with the participants in order to provide a detailed, contextual account of the nature and forms of their hate crime victimization in public and semi-public spaces. Central to the article is the argument that hate crimes against homeless people function as informal social control mechanisms that impose spatial constraints, not unlike the character and objectives of the warning-out laws that were used to exclude homeless people from the public and private space of …